As police search for a suspect in a string of armed robberies at Dupont subway station, the TTC is examining ways to improve security for its front-line staff.

The latest attempt occurred Sunday evening, when a veteran ticket collector was shot twice after apparently refusing to hand over cash to a masked gunman. The victim was recovering in hospital Monday from wounds to his neck and shoulder.

Police say this was the third time in less than a year that the suspect hit Dupont station; the previous times, in June and October, he made off with a small quantity of cash. Sunday was the only instance that ended in gunfire.

Related

“The suspect is actually leaving and he turns, several feet away from the collector’s booth… and, unprovoked, fires the gun in through the glass at the collector,” Toronto Police Staff Inspector Mike Earl said Monday.

All three incidents occurred on weekend evenings, and each time the male suspect — described as white, 35 to 50 years old, 5’5″ to 5’9″ and with a heavy build — wore dark clothing and a surgical mask or balaclava to shield his face. He brandished his handgun at the same collector’s booth each time, police said, though different ticket takers were on duty.

“It could be a comfort zone for this individual,” Staff Insp. Earl said, noting police were puzzled as to a motive. “This is the only collector booth that he’s robbed, and each time there’s approximately four months between each robbery.”

Police were appealing for witnesses, including one civilian who was seen chasing the suspect as he fled north along Spadina Avenue. Investigators have obtained video from the subway station and surrounding area, and were reviewing that footage Monday.

Sources have identified the victim as 52-year-old William Anderson, though authorities would not confirm his name.

Transit union boss Bob Kinnear described the victim as a decade-long TTC employee and a married father. The victim’s wife had previously raised concerns about her husband’s on-the-job safety, Mr. Kinnear added.

The incident has the TTC considering whether to replace the shatterproof glass surrounding collector booths with stronger bulletproof glass.

“I’m leaving nothing off the table,” Andy Byford, the TTC’s deputy chief general manager, said Monday after a meeting on worker safety scheduled in response to the shooting.

“The design of the glass, maybe that’s something that we need to revisit,” he said.

Mr. Byford pointed to a number of measures already in place to protect staff, including closed-circuit video cameras, a reduced amount of cash in booths and “hold-up” alarms, such as the one triggered Sunday night. In the coming days, the TTC will discuss other possible ways of boosting security, including further reducing the amount of cash on hand, he said.

“It is outrageous that this should have happened. No-one comes to work to be shot or assaulted, and we will continue to review our security arrangements,” Mr. Byford said.

TTC chair Karen Stintz said the commission was “fully behind” any changes that could improve employee safety. One measure already in the works to reduce the amount of cash changing hands is the Presto card, slated for full implementation within the next few years.

“By 2015 we will change the way fares are collected in the city, and I think that’s very positive,” Ms. Stintz said.

Mr. Kinnear called Sunday’s incident “a reflection of what our people face out there each and every day,” citing an average of two assaults a day on TTC staff. But he disagreed with a suggestion Monday from Councillor Doug Ford to replace ticket collectors with an automated fare system.

“We don’t believe that is the right answer at all,” Mr. Kinnear said, noting fare collectors serve double duty as the “eyes and ears” of the subway system.
National Post• Email: motoole@nationalpost.com | Twitter: megan_otoole